NORMAN, Okla. – Landry Jones came back for his senior season with No. 6 Oklahoma in part because he wanted one last chance to chase a national championship.
That chance could already be in jeopardy, and Jones knows he’s a big reason why.
John Hubert ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, Jarell Childs scored on a 1-yard fumble return off of one of Jones’ two turnovers, and No. 15 Kansas State beat the Sooners, 24-19, on Saturday night.
“I played pretty terrible,” Jones said. “The majority of this game is in my hands. I didn’t take care of the ball or make enough plays. This one is probably on me.”
Jones threw for 298 yards and a late touchdown to get Oklahoma (2-1, 0-1 Big 12 Conference) within five but also fumbled and threw an interception that allowed Kansas State (4-0, 1-0) to go ahead in the first place.
Counterpart Collin Klein outplayed him by picking up 228 yards of total offense, running for the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter and then making the key plays to close it out.
“In this game, typically, an offense goes and a team goes how a quarterback goes. That’s just the nature of this game, how it’s evolved through the years now. So there’s a lot on my shoulders, but I definitely can handle it,” Jones said.
“But I must play better. I have to play better for us to be successful.”
Jones had thrown for a school record 505 yards in Oklahoma’s 58-17 blowout at Kansas State last season that snuffed out the Wildcats’ 7-0 start in another meeting with both teams ranked in the top 15.
K-State coach Bill Snyder, the mentor to Sooners counterpart Bob Stoops, scored another marquee win against his former pupil. His only other win head-to-head had come in the 2003 Big 12 championship game, with the Wildcats losing in the other eight meetings.
None were more painful than when both teams were in the top 15 last October.
“He was very excited. He really didn’t have too much words to say,” Hubert said. “That’s when you can tell when coach Snyder is excited, when he comes into the locker room and he’s kind of speechless.
“We’re just happy that we could come out and get a big win at OU and show the world and show the fans that we’re capable of doing big things.”
A handful of critical mistakes by the Sooners’ quarterbacks did them in.
Jones’ first big gaffe came as he rolled to his right near his own goal line and was hit by Justin Tuggle, with the ball squirting free. Childs picked it up and scored to give K-State an early 7-3 lead and a big shot of momentum.
Oklahoma was within a yard of pulling even when Blake Bell, Jones’ backup who runs a power set called the “Belldozer,” fumbled away a snap to snuff out a promising drive.
“It’s just bad football when you turn the football over, give (up) a touchdown when you’re inside the 1-yard line on second down and you lose the football,” Stoops said. “It’s just bad football.
“You give up three turnovers and don’t get one, you’re going to lose against a good football team. That’s how it went.”
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